The dim sun soon sank into the west of the Vista Grove with the arrival of evening. After having dinner on the boat, Shade set off alone.
The wind in the city was very strong tonight, but it still could not blow away the dark clouds overhead. It was easy to find an alley in the city that was not illuminated by the moonlight, and when Shade opened the door at a qualified intersection,
The black envelope in my hand, but the invitation I saw was a piece of pure black paper with both front and back sides.
He took the piece of paper and looked at it from all angles, but couldn't see any guidance on it. In the next attempt, when the piece of paper touched the wall nearby, it seemed to blend into the wall immediately.
in the body.
Then, the square piece of black grew bigger and bigger on the wall until it turned into the shape of a door arch.
Shade stretched out his hand and clearly felt that the black piece had turned into a real door. He then tested the door a few more times before stepping in.
It was like passing through a layer of cold water curtain, but then there was a momentary feeling as if the ground was shaking. When I looked around again, I saw a closed door behind me, and in front of me were square tables and tables.
A bar-like place with stools.
There is only a portable kerosene lamp on the counter, and a man wearing a black mask stands behind the counter. In addition to Shade, there are two people sitting at the square tables. Shade is not the only one tonight.
guest.
"here it is"
The "tavern" in front of him was obviously unfamiliar, but Shade felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. This sense of familiarity was completely elusive, and Shade realized that there was the power of "cognitive impairment" here:
"Where is this?"
[I don’t know what you don’t know. Why don’t you use thaumaturgy to sense it? 】
"Powerful spatial perception!"
The effect of thaumaturgy was much more difficult than before, but fortunately, the answer was finally given. It seemed to be dark outside the hotel, but the blurry outline still allowed Shade to recognize where it was:
“First floor of Accordion Hotel!”
Once I realized this, the fog that shrouded my perception suddenly dissipated.
Although the layout was slightly different and the area became a little smaller, Shade recognized that this was the first floor of the hotel he was familiar with in the city center.
"Today is Saturday, and the hotel is closed at night. I remember Flora said that she would grab Vanessa and Sylvia and observe this place tonight. Contact the shadow of the tree father!"
"She" informed Shade of the time:
[This is the sixth era of the current world, early winter of 1854 in the universal calendar, the first day of the Frost Moon, night, seven forty-two minutes and twenty-three seconds.]
Then comes a new reminder:
[Time is frozen here, and it has always been the time just mentioned.]
"It's just a moment here?"
【It can be understood this way.】
Shade, who was holding the empty envelope, left the door and walked inside. Although he still didn't know what happened here, he didn't ask anyone.
The two people who had already sat down were sitting at different tables. They were probably not companions, so Shade also chose another table and sat down.
"Is that the masked man behind the counter Mr. Bennet?"
He asked again in his mind, but the other person only resembled Mr. Bennet in height and shape. Before close contact, Shade could not draw any conclusions.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed in the frozen second, and there was no sound at all on the dimly lit first floor of the hotel. After a long time, no new person appeared at the place where Shade had just appeared, so the masked man behind the counter held up the lamp.
The kerosene lamp opened the partition and came out.
Seeing that the other two people did not get up, Shade also sat here without moving, just looking at him.
The masked man first walked towards the middle-aged man closest to the counter. He had red hair and wore glasses and looked very knowledgeable.
"Boss, I will go to 1800 this time."
"Or go find the book?"
"Yes, I have found a new clue, the lost "Charlotte Prophecy", I will definitely find it this time."
The man wearing glasses took the paper handed over by the masked man, signed his name and pressed his fingerprints, and then walked to the stairs on the first floor. He quickly disappeared above the stairs, but Shade was sure that he
It's not like he reached the second floor, he really disappeared.
The man wearing the mask walked towards another man who was the second closest to the counter. The latter looked younger than the man who had disappeared, about thirty-five years old. He looked ordinary, if it were true
To describe it, Shade felt that he was very similar to his boss, Director Anlos of MI6. There were no characteristics in his body that were memorable enough.
"Boss, I have disposed of all my property and cut off all relationships with all my friends. I have chosen my destination. In 1769, a group of refugees migrated from the south to Ximu Town. I can use
The refugee identity settled back into Ximu Town.
From now on, no one knows my past or what I have done."
"Have you thought about it? The gentleman just left just for a short time. He can still look back, but you can't look back after you have made a decision, and I will not receive you here again."
The man sitting at the table with clenched fists nodded:
"I've thought about it, it's time to start a new life."
He also signed his name on a piece of paper and pressed his fingerprints, but when he picked up his suitcase and left, he walked to the hotel door instead of the stairs. After opening the door, the night view of Vista City was not outside.
It was a deep darkness that even Shade could not see through.
The man walked into it without looking back, and then disappeared.
So the only person sitting at the table was Shade. The man wearing a mask raised the kerosene lamp and walked towards him:
"This is your first time here, right? Guest."
"Yes."
Shade replied in a slow tone, still thinking about what he had just witnessed:
"I heard that this kind of invitation can take people to a magical place, so I tried to get one. Can you see that I am a magician? I am not the two ordinary people just now
.
I originally came to this small forest town because of the time-chosen matter, but I didn’t expect that besides the concert, there would be such a surprise waiting for me locally.”
He was still not sure who was wearing the mask in front of him. The mask was a high-level relic, which hindered Shade's perception. But he believed that the other person must be a member of the Bennet family. As for the three daughters
, the Bennets are still the younger son, so this is not necessarily the case.
However, he was at least certain that the masked man in front of him was a ring warlock, but the Bennet family he came into contact with were ordinary people. It seemed that the power of the tree really allowed them to hide deeply.
"Only those who desire to change the past or long for the future can come to me. Guest, do you also have a wish?"
The masked man asked Shade again, and placed the lantern in his hand on the table next to Shade, and then he also sat down. But he did not sit opposite Shade, but to the side.
"Really speaking, I still have wishes."
Xia De let out a long sigh:
"For some reason that is inconvenient to say, I fell in love with my teacher's teacher. My teacher was very troubled by this, and even a little angry with me, but it's really difficult to distinguish feelings.
"
"She" chuckled softly in her ear, while the masked man asked:
"So, is your teacher's teacher still alive today in 1854?"
"He died a long time ago because of some accidents that still cannot be figured out."
Shade said half-truthfully:
"I don't want to talk too much about my privacy, but if you really have the ability to let me see her again, I hope to go to 1822."
Actually it was 1821.
"So do you want to travel to 1822 forever, or do you just want to see it?"
The masked man Bennett asked again, but Shade did not give an answer immediately:
"I don't know what you are, but I at least know about equivalent transactions, and your tone of voice is too much like the rumored devil.
Before I give an answer, I need to know the price of each of these two options. I just saw those two ordinary people signing something similar to a contract."
The masked man nodded, turned back to the counter and brought out two more pieces of paper. This was not parchment but very common letter paper, and each of the two pieces of paper contained different treaties.
If Shade chooses to just take a look at 1822 and then come back, then he will need to pay a valuable reward - cash or antique calligraphy, gold, silver and jewelry, all of which are extremely expensive.
If you don't want to pay, you can also help the masked man do something in 1822. As for what he will do, he will only know after he signs a contract.
And if Schade chose to stay permanently in 1822, then the treaty would be relatively complicated.
First of all, as the old man in the used bookstore said during the day, you should not do anything that will attract a lot of attention in the rest of your life, and it is best not to kill anyone or be killed by others.
Secondly, most of the memories about this "time transfer station" will be forgotten after leaving here - this is what the treaty calls this place, and this article guarantees that once you travel through time permanently, there is absolutely no chance of turning back.
Finally, through the effect of the contract, it is promised that once "impurities" appear in the soul due to time travel, the ownership of the impurities will belong to the masked person.
"Isn't the soul impurity that appears due to time travel the Paradox Worm?"
After understanding this, Shade realized the significance of where he was now.
If he understood correctly, then this "time transfer station" was deliberately promoting the formation of the Paradox Worm. This was not a place to help people realize their wishes and travel through time. It was a Paradox Worm hatchery.
"There seems to be a problem with each of these terms of yours."